as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
extremely waspish, she uses her wit viciously when irritated
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Recent Examples of waspish
After some increasingly waspish bickering between Aleida and Irina, the group manages to agree once more on the importance of the Space Elevator and Titan mission succeeding unaffected by the ongoing protests.
—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
Spitting Image has delivered a typically waspish response after Deadline revealed this week that the show had been served with a lawsuit by the owners of Paddington Bear.
—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
But what a response — a performance full of waspish pressing, muscular defending and precise, efficient counters.
—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
In contrast to her expansive mate, Toklas was a waspish temple gatekeeper who never ceased to hold grudges.
—
Judith Thurman,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
At his waspish best, Mr. Wheatcroft is entertaining on all this.
—
Richard Aldous,
WSJ,
8 Oct. 2021
The waspish Queen – played by Rebecca Trehearn, whose deliciously withering grandeur would give Marie Antoinette pause — is not, to put it mildly, pleased.
—
David Benedict,
Variety,
19 Aug. 2021
The book brings to life characters such as the waspish U.S. Army general Joseph Stilwell and the eccentric U.S. ambassador Patrick Hurley.
—
Richard Bernstein,
Foreign Affairs,
20 Oct. 2014
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
Spitting Image has delivered a typically waspish response after Deadline revealed this week that the show had been served with a lawsuit by the owners of Paddington Bear.
—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
But what a response — a performance full of waspish pressing, muscular defending and precise, efficient counters.
—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
In contrast to her expansive mate, Toklas was a waspish temple gatekeeper who never ceased to hold grudges.
—
Judith Thurman,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
At his waspish best, Mr. Wheatcroft is entertaining on all this.
—
Richard Aldous,
WSJ,
8 Oct. 2021
The waspish Queen – played by Rebecca Trehearn, whose deliciously withering grandeur would give Marie Antoinette pause — is not, to put it mildly, pleased.
—
David Benedict,
Variety,
19 Aug. 2021
The book brings to life characters such as the waspish U.S. Army general Joseph Stilwell and the eccentric U.S. ambassador Patrick Hurley.
—
Richard Bernstein,
Foreign Affairs,
20 Oct. 2014
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waspish
Adjective
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Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
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They can be withdrawn or irritable.
Adjective
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Pelley had a very fiery clash with 60 Minutes’ new executive producer, Nick Bilton, in an internal network town hall on June 1 that went public.
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The map introduces the armored Oni, which swings a spiked kanabō, plus Scorched Zombies and fiery Hellhounds tied to its lava-field hazards.
Cite this Entry
“Waspish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waspish. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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